#59 – Building Classrooms To Serve More Vulnerable Children

Summary of the Situation

Education provides opportunities for better lives, but unfortunately, some members of society are not able to access it. Financial constraint and the inability of many parents to afford school fees hinders several children’s educational opportunities and results in their falling victim to several unhealthy lifestyles in various places, including Onitsha. Faithful to our charism, COMPASSION for the less privileged, the sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ established and run the school, Mother Bernadette Anyogu Memorial Comprehensive Secondary School in Onitsha to provide full access to education and to safeguard vulnerable children from unhealthy lifestyles. The fact that our school fees are affordable for the poor accounts for an increase in the number of students enrolled in our school every academic year resulting in limited classrooms. The number of students as of now is 250, by the next academic year which begins in September 2023, we shall be expecting about 120 more students. The optimum number of students in a classroom is 30, while currently in our school, 40-45 students are in each classroom. This does not provide a conducive learning environment for teachers or students. Funding will help us to build more classrooms, enabling us to provide a more conducive teaching and learning environment. It will also help us to serve more children, allowing them to benefit from this educational opportunity in Onitsha.

How will the funds be used?

The proposed classroom block is a four-story building. The ground floor will be an open space so the students will have a playground. The first, second, and third floors will contain three classrooms each. My aim is to construct the building in stages. During the first stage, we will build the ground floor (playground) and the first floor. This will enable us to accommodate the expected new students in the next academic year. The funds will be used for the purchase of building materials, payment of the building supervisors, and administrative costs.

The Sisters’s Response

The sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary Mother of Christ, through the establishment of Mother Bernadette Anyogu Memorial Comprehensive Secondary School, seek to help to provide access to education to vulnerable young boys and girls who have no opportunity for education due to their parent’s financial need. The sisters also aim at safeguarding young boys and girls from falling victim to armed robbery, cultism, truancy, drug addiction, school drop-outs, and others in the course of hawking to pay school fees. It is the hope of the sisters that the students gain holistic formation of good educational and moral values.

Systemic Impact

Lack of access to education due to poverty caused by unemployment.